The invention relates to a spoiler of an aircraft, which comprises: a top surface and a bottom surface; a front edge and a back edge that reside on the longitudinal outer edges of the spoiler; and at least one hinge element for turning the spoiler relative to said hinge element from a low position to a high position and vice versa.
The invention further relates to a wing of an aircraft, which comprises: a front edge and a back edge; at least one movable flap at the back of the wing; at least one movable spoiler arranged on the front side of the flap, the spoiler comprising a top surface and a bottom surface; and at least one vortex generator for controlling airflows.
The invention also relates to a movable control surface of an aircraft, which comprises: a top surface and a bottom surface; a front edge and a back edge that reside on the longitudinal outer edges of the control surface; and at least one hinge element for moving the control surface relative to said hinge element.
In addition, the invention relates to a method for generating vortexes, in which method vortexes are generated on the top surface side of a wing of an aircraft by means of at least one vortex generator.
In aircrafts, such as airplanes, different movable flaps are used to control takeoffs and landings. The flap can be arranged on the trailing edge of the wing, and it can consist of several parts whose angularity and position in the longitudinal direction of the airplane can be changed. By means of the flap, airflows on the wing can be controlled during takeoffs and landings in such a manner that the upward force of the wing can be increased as necessary. This way, the takeoff speed and landing speed required by the airplane can be kept reasonable. One problem with the flaps is that airflow endeavors to leave the top surfaces of the flaps, which reduces the maximum upward force generated by the wing. To solve this problem, protruding vortex generators are arranged on the top surfaces of the wings to endeavor to generate on the top surface of the flap controlled vortexes which keep the airflow on the top surface of the flap. For instance U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,419 discloses vortex generators arranged on the top surface of the wing. A drawback with such protruding vortex generators is, however, that they also cause vortexes and air resistance during cruising. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,720 discloses an arrangement in which on the front edge of a flap at the back part of the wing there is a transverse section that serves as a vortex generator.